Hoddle On Becks, Gazza and Sicknote
Neville Fears Hoddle Axe
Ince On Gazza
Harry Pratt's England Verdict
McCarthy On Teenage Sensation Keane
Scotland Draw Boosts Hoddle
Play-off Special - Peter Reid On Why Sunderland Will Win Promotion
Bowen & Kinsella On Charlton's Chances
Banks Wants Price Probe
Kluivert Wants Premier Move
United Target Breaks Leg
Laudrup Cash Wrangle
TV And Radio
World Cup News Round-up
Trivia
Bollocks!
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Monday 25 May 1998
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 News 4 
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BANKS DEMANDS PROBE ON SEASON TICKET PRICES
Sports Minister's Fury As His Chelsea Seat Goes Up By £400
SPORTS MINISTER and Chelsea fan Tony Banks has urged the Football Task Force to investigate season ticket prices after 17 of the 20 Premiership clubs hit their fans in the pocket - increasing prices by more than the four per cent rate of inflation. Chelsea are amongst the worst culprits and Banks will be joining his fellow Stamford Bridge devotees in paying more for his season ticket again next term as the Blues confirm their status as the country's most expensive club.
"The rises are very, very substantial," said Banks. "My Chelsea ticket has risen from £887 to £1,250. The fact is that I have always paid and they have always gone up. They gradually went up more and more. Paying £2,000 out of my gross income is a lot of money."
Elsewhere, Aston Villa's prices have risen by an astounding 22% from £306 to £374, while only Derby have frozen their season ticket prices as an incentive for early ticket purchase rewarding the fans who have helped establish them as a Premiership side.
Banks has asked David Mellor, as head of the Task Force, to investigate ticket prices and merchandising and report back to him by the end of the year. He wants answers, as a politician and a football fan, about the rising prices of football shirts and memorabilia, as well as tickets. "I think we all understand football is not like any other product," said the Sports Minister. "If they stuck up prices of refrigerators then you can switch brands. But you cannot switch from one club to another that is cheaper down the road. It is a drug, people are hooked on it and if they can afford it they will pay the prices."
Banks fears that clubs will freeze out their most loyal supporters, making it difficult for lifelong fans to keep up with the ticket prices and believes that it would be difficult to reverse the trend for pricing football beyond some punters. "They are pricing themselves out of reach of a number of people who deserve to be taken into consideration," he insisted. "I get as frustrated as anybody. Being sports minister people ask why the government doesn't do something. In theory the power is there, but in practice it is difficult."
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KLUIVERT CHASING MOVE TO GUNNERS OR UNITED
DUTCH striker Patrick Kluivert wants to play in the Premiership next season, and has set his sights high making it clear that Arsenal and Manchester United are the only teams who could lure him to England.
Kluivert has vowed to leave AC Milan this summer and would be worth around £8million on the British transfer market. It now seems that he will either be playing alongside fellow countrymen Dennis Bergkamp and Marc Overmars at Highbury, or battling against them for the championship as a Red Devil.
But before he enters the Premiership arena, he could find himself at the centre of a tug of war between United and Arsenal for his signature, with Chelsea and Tottenham now dropping out of the picture after being rejected by the fussy Dutchman.
I'm definitely leaving AC Milan," said Kluivert. "Like Dennis Bergkamp I have found that the football here is not the kind I want to play. My desire now is to go to an English club who have a similar style to Ajax, and the only two in the Premiership like that are Manchester United and Arsenal."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has made no secret of his plans to make two major signings this summer, with an Ian Wright replacement at the top of his list. United boss Alex Ferguson is also in the market for a striker after failing in bids for Marcelo Salas and Alessandro Del Piero.
OLD TRAFFORD TARGET FOE BREAKS LEG
ALEX FERGUSON may have to begin again in his search to find a world-class midfielder after the man he targeted as his next Old Trafford signing broke his leg in World Cup training.
Cameroon star Marc-Vivien Foe had been the subject of a £5m bid from Ferguson, who hoped to lure him away from French club FC Lens to team up with his other new acquisition, Dutchman Jaap Stam.
Foe is now out of the World Cup after the incident in Norcia, Italy, and could also miss the start of next season which could force Ferguson to think again about getting out the chequebook.
The midfielder's World Cup dream ended after a collision with a team-mate at the Cameroon training ground, and yesterday flew back to France, where he will have a series of x-rays which could decide his footballing fate.
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RANGERS TO FIGHT FOR LAUDRUP CASH
RANGERS chairman David Murray has pledged to continue his fight to make Chelsea pay for Brian Laudrup, despite the Danish international's insistence that he does not want a fee to be involved in his transfer. Laudrup understood that he would be moving to Stamford Bridge on a free transfer, and has spoken out against his current club's demands.
"Chelsea are talking to us about compensation and that's encouraging," said Murray. "Brian must respect Rangers' right to look after our interests. We will continue our discussions with Chelsea over a fee because I believe we have a strong legal case for going down that road.
"I'm not doing the dirty on him. I'm not attempting to blank out all the great memories he has left us. I know he is unhappy and has already gone public to get a few points off his chest and that's fair enough. But as chairman I have a responsibility to act in and protect Rangers' best interests."
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